It was a day to celebrate high school basketball in Richmond and hopefully will be a fixture on the schedule in years to come.
The inaugural Richmond All-Star Game took place on Saturday at MacNeill Secondary with a girls and boys doubleheader. Both were competitive games that was secondary to kids having one more chance to play and walking off the floor with smiles on their faces.
The idea of a showcase Richmond game had been tossed around for the last few years. It finally become a reality when the MacNeill basketball program agreed to take it on.
All proceeds from the games went to the senior boys team’s trip to San Diego, CA next season for the renowned Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.
“Myself and (Steveston-London head coach Mike Stoneburgh) were through the idea around as a fundraiser. Initially they were going to host it but I think doing the city playoffs (earlier) had taken its toll so we said we would it,” said MacNeill head coach Steward Siy. “We got the girls contacts and their response was immediate which is great to see.
“It’s a nice turnout today and hopefully something we can build on moving forward.”
The Ravens coaching staff went the geographical route to create East and West teams for the boys game. The girls was a little trickier thanks to city McMath and nearby Steveston-London and Hugh
Siy added the all-star game is one of several basketball-related fundraising projects over the next few months to help cover the expenses of attending renowned 30th annual Torrey Pines Holiday Classic next December. The program also hosted an elementary camp over the spring break.
The massive tournament features five 16-team brackets (80 teams) and is played at five different San Diego high schools.
It will the be the first time the Ravens program has gone on such a trip. They are coming off a fourth place finish in their debut at the BC 3A championships and have earned the No. 3 pre-season ranking for the 2019-20 campaign thanks to a number of key returning players.
